Ostomy appliances generally include a bag or pouch for collecting bodily waste discharged from their surgically created stoma. The bag is connected to a pad or surgical dressing that is in contact with the patient's skin and surrounds the stoma. The pouch is used to collect the waste and then emptied as needed. A stoma is usually located on a patient's belly above the belt line, and can be about 0.5–2 inches in diameter and protrude about 0.5–1.5 inches, typically, about ⅞ of an inch. The pouch is placed over the stoma using a small bead of seal paste applied at the base of the stoma to make a watertight seal. This pouch seal typically lasts about 1–2 days, before the seal is broken due to, for example, bodily perspiration that causes the seal paste to release from the skin. This can result in the pouch falling off or leaking, which obviously, is undesirable.
Improvements in securing ostomy appliances to a stoma on a human body are desirable.